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QUESTIONS & ANSWERS (38)

Victor M. Eskew

 

INTRODUCTION

 

A.     In the book, 25 Questions God Asked, Mary Selzer, the author, said she read the Bible and listed all of the questions she found therein.

1.       She found 3,241 questions.

2.       She also found that 200 people asked the questions.

3.       14% of the questions were asked by God.

 

B.      The forward of Mary Selzer’s book was written by Chad Hall.  In the opening paragraph, he writes:

 

“Every quest involves questions.  The Christian quest is an adventurous              

journey toward life in God, toward knowing God and loving God, toward                      

becoming a transformed kind of person, who finds life with God natural

and satisfying…Our quest is fueled by questions we ask and questions

asked of us” (p. 9).

 

C.     Each first Sunday night of the month is our Q&A night.

1.       You are able to ask questions that have come to you in your quest for God.

2.       We hope that our answers help you in your spiritual quest.

 

I.                    QUESTION #1:  CONSUMING ALCOHOL

 

A.     Stated:  What does the Bible say when it comes to members of the church consuming alcohol other than for medical purposes?  Also, it is wrong to use wine or beer as an ingredient in food?

 

B.      Answer:

1.       When cooking food, the alcoholic content of the liquid is burned off.  Thus, there are no mental effects from any consumption of alcohol.  A person could eat a pound of rum cake and never get drunk.

2.       Drinking an alcoholic drink is a different matter.

a.       Two verses:

1)      Proverbs 23:31

 

Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright.

 

2)      Ephesians 5:18

 

And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.

 

b.      Important considerations:

1)      The Bible teaches the Christian to be sober, right-minded (Tit. 2:2-6)

2)      Drunkenness is a process.  It is not a state that one reaches.  The minute a substance enters into the body, it has an impact on the body for either good or bad.

3)      The consumption of alcohol can become addictive.  In these cases, the individual gets enslaved to it.

4)      The consumption of alcohol can have very negative effects on one’s body:  brain, heart, liver, pancreas, immune system, and increased risks of cancer.

5)      Just a little alcohol has caused individuals to be involved in

a)      Accidents, some of them deadly

b)      Sinful behaviors (cursing, fighting, sexual relationships)

c)       Behaviors that harm one’s Christian influence (throwing up, passing out, yelling and screaming)

 

II.                 QUESTION #2:  Being Translated like Enoch

 

A.     Stated:  Could God still translate people today?

 

B.      Answer:

1.       What does it mean to be translated?

a.       It means that one does not experience death.

b.      It means that one is moved from earth to heaven.

c.       It means that one is changed from being mortal to immortal.

2.       There have only been two individuals who have been “translated” and did not see death.

a.       One of them was Enoch (Gen. 5:24; Heb. 11:5).

 

And Enoch walked with God:  and he was not; for God took him.

 

b.      The other was Elijah (II Kings 2:11).

 

And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

 

3.       The question asks if God “could” translate someone today.  The answer is:  “Yes, He could.”  By this, we mean that He has the power and ability to do it.

4.       Will God translate anyone today?  No. 

a.       Death is supposed to be the end of all men.

1)      Hebrews 9:27

 

And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.

 

2)      This is the consequence of Adam’s sin in the Garden of Eden (Rom. 5:12).

b.      Being translated is an exception to this law. 

1)      Again, only two out of all who have ever lived have been translated. 

2)      There is no indication that God will ever do this again.

 

III.              QUESTION #3:  His days shall be 120 years

 

A.     Question:  What is the meaning of the 120 years in Genesis 6:3?

 

B.      Answer:

1.       Genesis 6:3

 

And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with men, for that he also is flesh:  yet his days shall be a hundred and twenty years.

 

 

2.       There are two views on the 120 years.

a.       One view is that God set a limit to the number of years man would live.

1)      New Living Translation:   “Then the Lord said, ‘My Spirit will not put up with humans for such a long time, for they are only mortal flesh.  In the future, they will live no more than 120 years.’”

2)      Objection #1:  After the flood many of the patriarchs continued to live past 120 years of age (See Gen. 11).

a)      There are 10 generations from Noah to Abraham.  Everyone of them lived past the age of 120 years.

b)      Terah, Abraham’s father, lived to be 205 years of age. 

c)       If God limited the age, when was it supposed to begin?

3)      Objection #2:  Moses tells us that the average age of man is between 70 to 80 years old (Ps. 90:10).

 

The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is there strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.

 

b.      A second view is that God would destroy the earth in 120 years.

1)      Objection:  Some believe that the earth was destroyed in less than 120 years.

a)      In Genesis 5:32, Noah was 500 years old when he begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

b)      In Genesis 6:7, Noah is 600 years old when the flood came. 

c)       This is only a period of 100 years instead of 120 years.

2)      Answer:

a)      Genesis 5 is a genealogy that concludes with the year in which Noah’s sons were born.

b)      Genesis 6 begins the story of the flood.

-          God sets the time limit of 120 years to strive with man.

-          In Genesis 6:10, we are told of the birth of Noah’s sons again.  This time, it is after God’s sentence upon the earth.

-          God, therefore, determined the time that the earth would remain before the flood approximately 20 years before the birth of Noah’s sons.

 

CONCLUSION

 

A.     We have seen three things in the course of this lesson.

1.       We have looked specifically at one sin, the sin of drinking alcoholic beverages. 

2.       God’s reaction to sin.  The earth in Noah’s day was filled with violence and iniquity and God sent a flood to destroy mankind.

3.       We have also seen that God rewards righteous behavior.

a.       Noah found grace in the sight of the Lord (Gen. 6:8).

b.      Men like Enoch and Elijah were translated (See Heb. 11:5).

 

By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him:  for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.

 

B.      The choices of the past are the same choices that we must make today.

1.       We can choose sin and be punished by God.

2.       We can please God and be rewarded by Him.

 

C.     Which choice are you making as you live your life?